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Emirates launches cabin crew recruitment drive
Emirates is sending teams of recruitment specialists to
27 countries on four continents between January and April, as the airline
launches a multi-national campaign to recruit new cabin crew for its
continually growing fleet.
The airline’s target is to welcome on board 1,000 high
caliber new cabin crew by mid 2004, boosting numbers to over 5,000. Emirates
will be looking for male and female candidates with excellent interpersonal
and communication skills, maturity, a focus on service and a positive
attitude.
In January, recruiters will visit eight cities in Europe
(London, Rome, Milan, Paris, Istanbul, Ankara, Belgrade and Berlin), seven
in Asia-Pacific (Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Brisbane, Cairns,
Melbourne and Auckland), four in Africa (Cairo, Cape Town, Johannesburg and
Nairobi) and one in the Middle East (Beirut).
In February the search widens to Tokyo, Vancouver,
Barcelona, Dublin and later the East European nations of Bulgaria, Romania
and Hungary.
First efforts to find candidates in Central and South
America come in March and April, when recruiters visit Brazil, Argentina,
Venezuela and Mexico. Teams will also tour UK cities outside London,
including Birmingham and Leeds.
Tourism growth projected at 25% in 2004
Tourism and Sports Minister Sontaya Khunpluem recently
stated that earlier tourism plans based on growth of 12 percent had now been
abandoned due to the successful containment of Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS), the healthy growth of the Thai economy and Thailand’s
exemplary hosting of October’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
summit.
Expressing confidence that Thailand would see a surge of
visitors next year, the minister said that new plans had now been drawn up
based on growth of no less than 25 percent, with no less than 12 million
foreign tourists flocking into the country.
Sontaya said, “Under the new plans, the ministry will
use its 4.7 million baht funding allocation for 2004 to develop tourist
destinations to international standards. At the same time, the ministry will
use 1.8 billion baht in a public relations campaign to encourage foreigners
to visit Thailand in greater numbers, while urging Thais from all walks of
life to drive round the Kingdom as part of a new ‘Drive round Thailand -
go every month’ promotion.”
Sontaya added that the Tourism and Sports Ministry now
planned to revamp a number of tourist destinations, including the Sukhothai
Historical Park, which sees 400,000 visitors each year. He also stressed
that the government was attaching great importance to tourist safety. (TNA)
2004 to be ‘Year of new airport construction’
Deputy Transport Minister Vichet Kasemthongsri has
declared 2004 to be a ‘Year of new airport construction’, with new
airports springing up across the country in response to the launch of
low-cost airlines.
Launching the scheme, Vichet said that he had ordered the
Department of Aviation to conduct an urgent feasibility study into the
construction of a second airport to serve the growing number of tourist
arrivals on the southern resort island of Samui. Expressing hope that the
feasibility study would be completed in a mere three weeks, he said that
construction would require investment of over 500 million baht.
At the same time, he said, he had called on the
Department of Aviation to regard 2004 as a year of airport development and
construction, noting that there were several other suitable locations for
new airports where the number of visitors would make the construction of an
airport cost effective. These included the district of Pai in the northern
province of Mae Hong Son, and an airport for Uttradit Province.
He also called for the acceleration of 26 provincial
airport construction projects currently underway, stressing the importance
of new airports for the blossoming low-cost airline industry, which looked
set to increase annual passenger numbers from eight million to 20 million
within the next five years. (TNA)
Singapore considers low-cost terminal for budget carriers’ customers
Air-conditioning and carpets considered unnecessary
With the advent of budget carriers into Asia, the Civil
Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is considering building a terminal
specifically to cater to them, and which may have “the same physical
attributes as some of our bus terminals.”
The announcement was made by Singapore’s Transport
Minister, Yeo Cheow Tong, at an event celebrating the centennial of powered
flight at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1. Yeo also said Singapore would “spare
no effort” to ensure that it remained the premier air hub in the region.
Two new budget carriers, Tiger Airways (whose major
shareholder is Singapore Airlines) and ValuAir (whose founders include SIA’s
former managing director, Lim Chin Beng) will enter the fray next year.
He said, “The future will not be a mere extrapolation of
the past. With the emergence of new and low cost carriers in the region, and a
fundamental change in our local aviation scene from a single player to multiple
players, the local aviation environment can only get increasingly complex.
Although (the new terminal) will be physically located at Changi, and be equally
efficient and clean, it will be quite a different concept from the current
terminals in Changi Airport in terms of its physical attributes.”
Yeo said this new form of air travel will require not only a
change in mindset on the part of the CAAS, but also the traveling public who
“have long experienced the high standards of Changi Airport.” He mentioned
air-conditioning and carpeting would not be considered necessary in the new
terminal. (TTG Asia)
Film festival pushes Bangkok’s into forefront as entertainment hub
The upcoming Bangkok International Film Festival promises
to be better than ever, with features, documentaries and short films from
every corner of the globe highlighting the capital’s role as one of the
world’s foremost places of entertainment.
Announcing the launch, Tourism Authority of Thailand
(TAT) Governor Jutamas Siriwan said that the festival, scheduled to run from
22 January to 2 February 2004, would showcase an enormous range of films,
including 10-15 feature-length movies from Association of Southeast Asian
Nation (ASEAN) members including Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
ASEAN short films, documentaries and animations will also
be featured. For those interested in Thai cinema, there will be both feature
movies and documentaries on important events in the Kingdom’s past.
Jutamas said that the festival would be more spectacular
than previous years’ events, with grand opening and closing ceremonies
held at the Scala cinema, film competitions, prizes, seminars, golf contests
for film stars, and concerts.
The movies will be shown at five leading cinemas: SF
Cinema City Emporium, Major Cineplex Central World Plaza, Lido Siam, EGV
Metropolis Big C Rajadamri, and Grand EGV Siam Discovery. (TNA)
‘Clean toilet’ campaign
to bring smiles to travelers
Anyone whose travel is marred by the thought of filthy
public toilets can take heart from the Ministry of Public Health’s new
campaign to ensure that petrol station lavatories are clean enough to bring
a smile to users’ faces and improve Thailand’s tourist image.
Toilets are the main target in the ministry’s
‘Thailand - good to live in, good to tour’ campaign, which recently saw
321 petrol stations win certification for their clean toilets from the
Permanent Secretary for Public Health, Vallop Thaineua.
Handing over the awards, Vallop noted that poor
environmental health standards not only led to bad hygiene among the Thai
public, but also affected Thailand’s reputation among tourists.
The quaintly-named ‘Toilets which are good to use, for
the happiness of Thais and foreigners’ campaign is hoped to ensure that
petrol station toilets across the country adopt a uniformly high standard of
cleanliness. The campaign is also intended to encourage local government
authorities to realize the importance of following international hygiene
measures to pull in visitor numbers.
Regular inspections of toilets will be carried out to
ensure compliance with legislation and with the environmental health
measures drawn up by the ministry. Inspections of petrol stations on roads
leading from Bangkok to the north, northeast and southern regions have
revealed that only 48.2 percent of toilets currently meet the ministry’s
standards. (TNA)
Northeastern region gateway to Laos’ World Heritage city
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports is pushing to promote
the country’s northeastern region to be a gateway to the world Heritage
City of Luang Prabang. The minister, Sontaya Khunpluem said that he had
assigned the tourism authorities to study the strategy for northeastern
tourism development ahead of the opening of the new Thai -Laos Friendship
Bridge across Hueng River.
Sontaya said Thailand set aside a budget of 20.7 million
baht to build the 110 meter-long bridge linking Loei Province and the Lao
province of Sayaboury. The project will facilitate traveling to the ancient
city of Luang Prabang situated 150 kilometers from the site. The completion
date is scheduled in mid 2004. (TNA)
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